Firstly I’d like to introduce myself: I’ve just started at the Wildlife Trust and will be taking responsibility for managing Blacka Moor, following on from Annabelle Kennedy.

It’s an exciting time to be joining the Trust since, as you’ll be aware, we’re going to be updating the Blacka Moor Management Plan this year. To this end we’ve got a couple of public engagement events coming up in September where we’re going to be gathering people’s views and ideas on sections of the plan:

As a supporter of Blacka Moor we hope that you’ll be able to attend at least one of these events to provide us with your input. Alongside the management plan we’re also going to be reviewing the role of the RAG group and considering other ways of engaging with supporters and stakeholders with an interest in Blacka Moor.

Thank you in anticipation of your support and I look forward to meeting you soon.

The update from the recent Reserve Advisory Group meeting can now be downloaded from the bottom of the Wyming Brook webpage, here. Thanks to all who came along - we’re still waiting on some results from the recent fish surveys, but these will be added to the website as soon as they’re ready.

The next RAG meeting will be held on site (starting at the Fox Hagg car park on Lodge Lane), on Thursday 30th July, 7pm – 9pm. A reminder will be sent out closer to the time. It will most likely be Rachel Stevenson assisting Rob with Wyming Brook and Fox Hagg from now on, as I shall be leaving the Trust at the end of March after five very enjoyable years.

Next month’s weekend Community Work Day is Sunday 15th March, and the task for the day will likely be some tree planting in Foxholes Plantation. Jono will be meeting volunteers at the Redmires Road car park at 10am as usual. Please do get in touch if you’d like any further information.

"Dear friends of our birds, Thanks a lot for your great support for our fight against the massive bird slaughter in Egypt!

"Today I want to let you know that our common efforts are already bearing fruits: The German ministry of environment has reacted immediately and demanded an end to the trapping of migratory birds from the government of Egypt. It has also provided 20,000 Euro for urgent activities in the fight against the bird slaughter in Egypt. This money we are using to organize an international meeting including representatives of the Egyptian ministry of environment to develop an action plan aimed at ending the bird trapping.

"Since October this year, my organization NABU, is already employing an expert in Egypt who is preparing this plan and will coordinate its implementation.

"There is also hope on a higher political level: The new Egyptian environment minister, Dr Laila Iskandar, recently promised to the ambassador of Switzerland in Kairo, to attend to this matter. Currently an internal working group is being set up in her ministry, whose task it is to stop the bird slaughter.

"I have asked the Egyptian ambassador in Berlin for a meeting to hand him the petition. The meeting is going to take place probably in the end of November / beginning of December. All signatures we will receive until then are going to be counted out and handed over.

"Therefore, there are some more days remaining to collect further signatures. So far, we are 75,000. Let’s make it 100,000! Please help us, spread this petition again. Please advise all your friends and relatives to this petition by sharing the following link on Facebook or via e-mail: